Brandon starts climb back to contention

You could probably charge admission for Brandon University men’s volleyball scrimmages this year.

Competition for court time is as fierce as it’s been in years, with two full lineups of capable Canada West players.

That being said, the pre-season revealed no surprises as head coach Grant Wilson’s season-opening lineup took shape.

He’ll see how it looks against one of the country’s best this weekend as the Bobcats kick off the 20-match campaign against host UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday in Kelowna, B.C.

“Overall, I thought it was a good pre-season. We learned lots about our group, and individually, the guys learned a lot about themselves, trying to sort out roles,” Wilson said.

“Things shook out in a way we feel comfortable going forward. Everybody’s excited to get going and play those meaningful games.”

While BU went 7-13 last year, taking the 10th and final playoff spot before bowing out in the first round, there’s cause for optimism moving forward. The question is how soon the 2025 national champions will bounce back.

Wilson said what stood out most in October was the way the young Bobcats have adapted to the team’s systems, not only contributing to depth but pushing for immediate court time for some.

“There’s still going to be a lot of positional battles throughout the year because of that,” Wilson added.

PRE-SEASON CLASHES

BU began exhibition play as usual, with its home tournament on the first weekend of October. It swept McMaster and Winnipeg, then lost to Saskatchewan 3-1 and Manitoba 3-2.

The Bobcats travelled to Kingston, Ont., for the Queen’s University tournament, falling 3-2 to the host Gaels and the Laval Rouge et Or, and defeating the York Lions in five sets.

That match highlighted the abilities of the young guys, as second-year Ethan Baraniuk racked up a team-high 21 kills while rookie Mason Lange posted 14. Rookie middle blocker Luke Schroeder chipped in seven kills, while import Jobe McAuley had eight.

POSITION BATTLES

The two wide-open spots heading into the season were always going to be both outside hitters. Tom Friesen and Liam Pauls graduated, leaving room for someone with limited match experience to seize the opportunity.

Baraniuk was a natural fit, after he made the Canada West all-rookie team and spent the summer with the Volleyball Canada under-21 squad.

Lange simply proved he’s ready enough to go right away.

“Mason just has the ability to do some things other guys can’t do, even though he’s a first-year. He’s the hardest server on the team, he’s one of the most aggressive spikers on the team, he doesn’t fear situations, he just plays and plays hard,” Wilson said.

“We need that in this lineup, in my opinion. I don’t think we’re a team that’s good enough to play safe. We have to play with some risk involved and he definitely brings that.”

“Baraniuk and Lange have done some good things in the pre-season but we’re aware they’re both young,” Wilson added.

“For us, turning to Sam Chen or Ryden Hargreaves is a really, really good option for us. They’re both skilled, they’re both veterans and all four of those guys will see the floor.”

• • •

As expected, middle blockers Matt Siebenga and Riley Brunet are back on top for now. Last year, they didn’t have much to worry about as the Bobcats sorely lacked depth at the position due to a few off-season surprises.

This year, rookies Luke Schroeder and Alfredo Enns serve as motivation for the veterans.

“The two best middle blockers right now are Bruno and Matt. We’re going to rely upon them heavily for read blocking and leadership as older guys,” Wilson said.

“Luke would be the first one in if something went astray … but both Luke and Alfredo will be looked at as potential serving subs … Luke’s a spin server who serves it very heavily and Alfredo’s float serve has caused a lot of problems.”

Fifth-year opposite hitter Liam Kindle will start, as McAuley suffered a lower-body injury at the Queen’s tournament and has been hobbling in a walking boot this week.

Baraniuk, Chen and Hargreaves are all capable of stepping into the role as well, though.

• • •

Behind them, Cooper Bevan will start the season as the full-time libero, something Wilson hasn’t done much since the league allowed two to play in the same set.

He had Bevan and Kingston Thomas swap out for passing and defence in their rookie year, but feels Bevan has earned the right to handle the full job.

“If you have a guy that’s doing it all, they just feel they’re in the game more … whereas some guys feel going in and out causes some mental lapses,” Wilson said. “It’s purely situational with who the athlete is, because there are times the athlete needs the mental break.”

The BU offence will still run through Kale Fisher.

Wilson said the fourth-year setter from Edmonton has separated himself from Keon Torz and Matt Lefebvre at times in the first few months.

At the same time, the six-foot-five Lefebvre provides a boost in the blocking department while Torz is one of the team’s best defenders.

Now that Canada West has increased the maximum substitutions per set to eight to match the women’s rules — the league previously used the international standard of six — Wilson has more flexibility to throw a few guys in.

Expect him to use a double sub when Fisher is in the front row to get a back-row setter and backup opposite in the game for more firepower, as well as employing his usual late-set serving subs.

THE SCHEDULE

After this weekend, the Bobcats have two home weekends on either side of a bye. They host the MacEwan Griffins on Oct. 30-31 and the UBC Thunderbirds on Nov. 13-14, which is homecoming weekend.

BU visits Mount Royal, the site of the 2027 U Sports championship, then returns home on Nov. 27-28 to face Thompson Rivers, assistant coached by Wilson’s son, Reece.

The second half starts with back-to-back road weekends at Manitoba and Calgary.

Brandon hosts Winnipeg on Jan. 29-30, visits Fraser Valley, then hosts Saskatchewan to close the season on Feb. 12-13.

Wilson doesn’t have much to say about Match 3 through 20.

“It’s the same old for us; we’re just going to look at it one weekend at a time,” Wilson said.

“We have a massive challenge in front of us in UBCO, who’s probably a top two or top three team in the country. They have all their pieces from last year, with the exception of their starting setter.

“They’re obviously at home and we know we’ve got our hands full.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com